Austal Christens USNS Brunswick

 

Austal celebrated the christening of USNS Brunswick (JHSV 6) with a ceremony this morning at its shipyard in Mobile, Ala. USNS Brunswick is the sixth of 10 Joint High Speed Vessels (JHSV) that Austal has under contract with the U.S. Navy as part of an overall 10-ship block-buy contract worth over $1.6 billion.

JHSV 6, a 338-foot shallow draft aluminum catamaran, is a multi-mission, non-combatant transport vessel characterized by its high volume, high speed, and flexibility.  It is the fourth ship to be named Brunswick after the seaport city located on the southeast coast of Georgia.  The city of Brunswick played an important role during World War II as the site of a 435-acre shipyard that employed up to 16,000 workers at its peak. The yard produced 99 Liberty ships by the end of the war.

“Brunswick displays American values of community, hospitality and resourcefulness at their very best,” said Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. “I chose to name the Joint High Speed Vessel after Brunswick to honor those values and the men and women of the city, as well as the state of Georgia."

“Brunswick is the result of the successful industry/DOD partnership that has developed between Austal USA, Military Sealift Command, and the Navy,” said Craig Perciavalle, president of Austal USA. “We’re very excited about how stable and mature the JHSV program has become as we prepare JHSV 6 for trials and delivery in the fall.”

Brunswick will soon join her sister JHSV’s that have been delivered over the last two-and-a-half years including USNS Spearhead (JHSV 1) which is deep into her second deployment since she was delivered in 2012.

“The fast-growing JHSV fleet has proven to be flexible in ways we didn’t even consider when this program first started,” said Perciavalle, “Without the dedication and pride of the hard-working individuals that make up Austal’s awesome shipbuilding team, this program wouldn’t be experiencing the success we’re celebrating today.”

The ship’s sponsor, Alma Booterbaugh, joined the immediate office of the Secretary of the Navy in 1999 and she is currently the Office Manager and Scheduler for the Secretary of the Navy. Booterbaugh has been a civil servant for over 30 years with the Federal Government and is the recipient of the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award and three Navy Superior Civilian Service Awards. Booterbaugh was joined on stage today by her daughter, USNS Brunswick’s Maid of Honor, Brittany Booterbaugh.

More than 300 naval guests, civic leaders, community members and Austal employees attended the ceremony held beneath the hull of Brunswick in the Austal final assembly bay.

Three JHSVs and seven Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) are currently under construction in Austal’s Mobile, Ala. shipyard. The company is scheduled to launch JHSV 6 before the end of the month, while the future USS Jackson (LCS 6) prepares for its acceptance sea trials later this summer.

For the LCS and JHSV programs, Austal, as prime contractor, is teamed with General Dynamics Mission Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics. For the JHSV program, General Dynamics is responsible for the design, integration and testing of the navigation and communication systems, C4I and aviation systems.